Somewhere In Neverland
by HookASwan
Summary: Princess Emma Charming is an extraordinarily, ordinary girl. Ordinary, with pale blond hair and ordinary looking eyes and ordinary habits. Extraordinary, because she's got that dark side that every conniving lost boy dreams of, and the purest of heart even a shadow's curse can't vanquish.
1. Visitors At Midnight

Emma Charming was at it again.

Chasing rabbits off into the woods, the ones right behind her home. She was barely old enough to be let out by herself, and already, again, she was running into the darker parts of the castle's grounds than she was allowed to be even with an escort. At thirteen, she should be inside the castle's walls studying the geography of the Enchanted Forest, but her teacher had left her

unattended for too long, and she had slipped off.

Wearing the casual gown that she was allowed to wear, her simple red one that went just above the ankles and was narrow enough to not be too elaborate but was wide enough to not be extremely hard to walk in, she followed the tiny cotton tail through the trees and up around rocks and through the small stream, letting the water soak in between her toes. It felt great; she'd missed summer. The beginning when everything still smelled like spring.

Of course, Emma didn't know what spring smelled like. She just thought it smelled like flowers and honey and her mother's perfume.

Before long, she heard her name being called by her father. It wasn't surprising, he was always the one who came to find her. Wearing a wide smile on his handsome, still young face, he reached his hand out to help Emma down from a tall rock. Standing behind him was her baby brother, the newest in the bunch, little Benjamin.

Benjamin was about four and a half years old, his birthday being on the winter solstice. As it would be, Emma's was on the autumn's equinox. They were aware that it didn't happen on the same day every year, but the way it played out was pretty cool in Emma's eyes.

"Emma, you need to stop running off." Her father murmured, with a voice as hard as a rock but a face softer than down. Benny gave her a "shame-on-you" look.

"But, Papa! There was nothing to do while Marcelle was out," she frowned, taking his hand and raising her dress to step off of the stone safely. Her father was boring into her with his pretty green eyes, the ones that always scolded her for taking an extra scoop of pudding at dinner, the ones that constantly wanted to know exactly what she was up to.

"Well, Marcelle is back and worrying so much about you. So it's time to go back inside; dinner will be ready soon." the King held onto her hand, and Emma reached out to twine her fingers with the young prince's, as they descended down the hill. She could hear the birds chirping, and the sound of the farmhands tending to the royal family's horse in the barn. She could even see her own pony sticking it's head out of his stall and whinnying at her. They hadn't rode together in a while.

The sun was coming close to reaching the tips of the forest's trees as they entered back into the castle, and Emma took off her boots in order to give chase to Ben. He was fast for having such short legs, and able to dodge around the guards and make himself almost invisible with his stealthiness.

Their shenanigans brought them to the lowest part of the castle, in a restricted area where they know they weren't supposed to go. But, with dinner coming soon, the guard on duty had moved to his next post and the guard who usually followed, Benny and Emma knew as Ronald, was sloth to get to the chamber. It gave them the perfect opportunity to slip in and check out what their parents had forbidden them to see.

The chamber was dark and dank, and Emma took Benjamin's hand once again to be sure that he wouldn't run off. It was cold enough to see their breath, and her toes sunk into the hay that littered the floor. Several barred off areas, with benches and buckets inside, lined the walls on the right and hooks and chains lined them on the left. Nobody was there.

Emma, who barely paid any attention to her teacher when she spoke, knew enough to know that this place was the dungeon.

Running her fingers on the rusted metal, she made a gulping sound and held tighter onto her brother, just as she heard someone cough. It wasn't just a subtle, look-at-me cough, it was harsh and long and rugged, like someone who had sucked in too much smoke. The terror that struck Benny's eyes made Emma protective, and she quickly pushed him behind her in an attempt to hide him. Whoever this was, Emma knew her parents trusted almost everyone. Whoever this was, was dangerous.

She silently ordered Benny to stay right where he was, as she approached the cell. Peering in, she saw a man. A man, with rugged skin that shined like diamonds, and with eyes the colour of the sky when the sun set. A man whose teeth were crooked and yellow, someone almost repulsive. He looked up at her, smirking, and asked a simple question.

"Do your parents know you're down here?"

* * *

That night, after dinner, Emma stayed in her quarters as she finished up her homework, when there was a small knock on the door. Looking up, she closed her book and stared at the door. Who knocked, besides the maid who only worked in the mornings?

Pushing her chair out, she fixed her night gown and wobbled on unsteady, drowsy feet towards the wooden door, pulling it open to reveal the most beautiful women Emma knew, and would ever know.

Queen Snow White stood in front of her, her own white night gown on, one that matched Emma's only the little bow in the center was blue, not black. Her long, raven hair was pulled up into a lazy ponytail, her naturally red lips curved down in a frown, and her blue eyes watched her with disappointment. "May I come in?" She whispered.

Emma nodded, moving off to the side to let her in, then closing the door. Her mother walked in a circle for a second, examining the drawings and the bed and the desk and her candle, then sat down on the pillow pile in the corner, and patted the spot beside her. That was her go-to we-need-to-talk area. And the young princess thought she knew exactly what they needed to talk about.

The blond pulled her hair over her shoulder, running her fingers through it refusing to sit down. Snow White pursed her lips for just a second.

"You went to the dungeon, didn't you?" Her voice was shrouded in malice, but little Charming knew she wouldn't be too drastic about this. It was just an adventure.

"We were curious onto what you were hiding from us," she whispered, her fingers hitting a tangle and she began to work it out. She watched her mother's gaze harden.

"We are not hiding anything from you. We are hiding you from him." Snow White's voice was harsh and unlike her, her eyes almost black as she hid her face. It scared Emma to see her like this.

"But, Mama, I can-" she began, but was cut off.

"You are not to go down there, Emma."

"But, Mama!"

"I said, you are not to go down there!"

"Will you please listen-"

"Understand?"

"Mother!"

"Understand?!" Snow shouted. She actually shouted at her. It startled Emma so much that she almost fell backward, watching her carefully.

"...Understood."

* * *

That night, when the moon had risen to it's highest point, Emma awoke to her window swinging open. The wind had started up sometime in the evening, and it had finally gotten strong enough to wake up the residents of the castle. She sat up, wiping her face where it was still slightly damp from crying herself to sleep after her argument with her mother. She also had to rid herself of the drool that had crusted onto the side of her face.

She stumbled to the window, reaching to grab each end of it, when a shadow caught her eyes. It's eyes glowed in the dark, like stars, and she froze as it came closer. Moving away from the window, the shadow perched itself in a crouching position on the sill, and she could've sworn it smiled at her as it whispered in the dark, "Do you want to go away?"

But, as Emma would not know, the malicious shadow had one thought in it's mind, it's one command. The few words that ordered it to drift from tradition. "_Fetch me the purest of heart, at any cost. I need to live forever."_


	2. Neverland

_**Welcome To Neverland.**_

"I can't go away, I'm not allowed to." Emma found herself to not be scared by this entity, one of whom had an aura of security. She also realized that if her parents heard her, she'd be in more trouble than she already was.

"Why not? I don't think they'd even care," the boy – his voice did sound like one – spoke to her without a mouth. It made her uncomfortable, but she thought the exact opposite of what he said. "No, I think they care! They've always cared, about me and about Benny," she defended her parents.

"I think they care, too. We could just go away, only for a night," He stated, and Emma swore she saw that smile run across his face one more time. And Emma thought that would be fun.

"Where would we go?" She asked, moving to sit on the opposite side of the shadow.

"A place where children can go in their sleep," he replied, and reached his hand out to her. "There's lots of other kids to play with there, and they're all a little lost. Like you."

"Lost?" She scoffed, and then giggled a little bit, childishly for a teen. "I'm not lost! I'm right at home, right here!"

"Are you?" The shadow asked, and she stopped giggling. He seemed so serious, and then stood up. Reaching his hand out further, Emma took hold of it and stood. That's when he started floating again, and she was smiling, and she asked his name. "For now, call me Peter."

When Emma Charming heard her mother coming down the hallway, she froze. When she heard her mother twist the doorknob, she watched her mystical companion in horror. And, when her feet lifted off of the ground by some sort of amusing magic, she screamed with delight. Being whisked out of the window so late at night made it exhilarating, more so than if her mother had just simply used her magic to lift her up into the air.

"Emma?!" She heard her mother yell in terror, throwing the door open and watching, gaping, at the sight before her. Emma and Peter were moving out, several yards passed the window sill, before they dive-bombed and he took her up into the air.

The last thing she saw from the castle window was her father rush in, sword in hand, and she thought she may have seen tears forming in his eyes.

The wind made Emma's messy ringlets fly out behind her, made a smile run across her face, and she tasted the salt in the air as she passed over the ocean and up, up, up, into the sky.

"Where are we going?" She called over the rush, and Peter responded by taking both of her hands instead of one, and halting for just a moment. He reached and pointed to the brightest star. "The second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning!"

"What is that place called?"

"Neverland."

Emma was thrilled, but deep down inside, she knew this was wrong. But, when he started jetting through the air once again, and flew inside of that star, all of her worries seemed to disappear. Clouds covered her vision, and the wind got considerably warmer, like a tropical island, and that's exactly what she saw.

A volcano was the centre of the island, with trees littering the floor. The shore seemed like it was made of white diamonds, which she immediately collided into as soon as the sun rose. Did the shadow drop her?

When she pulled her messed up face, now covered in sand and dirt, with a shell-marked cut on her cheek, she couldn't see her chaperone. It was as if he simply… disappeared. Maybe he did.

Pushing herself up and onto her knees, which were also cut up, she tried to fix her nightgown before getting up and walking. It was very hot, but there was nothing else she could possibly wear but this heavy dress. The trees looked like ones in books, _palm trees_, she believed Marcelle called them. Her feet, bare, were sinking into the ground. When she took a step, she noticed there was more dirt than sand. She also noticed the rustling of the leaves from the bushes, and she took a deep breath.

"Don't be frightened," she heard a voice, older than her own, a little rough and full of empathy. "We all felt this way at the beginning, too." Turning to face the boy that made that sound, she saw an attractive young man with piercing green eyes, shaggy brown hair, a wry smile, and rust coloured rags for clothes. Emma did a quick, through-looking of her own self, to see if she was dressed appropriately. Which, she was not.

"Who are you?" She asked gently, her voice shaking slightly in the presence of the second stranger in a few hours. He was making her more nervous and more nervous by the second. "Are you a friend of the shadow that brought me here?"

"I am the shadow that brought you here. In a way, at least." He grinned wide, and then walked closer, holding out his hand. "My name is Pan. It's really nice to meet you, Emma."

This boy knew her name. "How do you know—I never told the shadow my name," she retorted, her voice thickening and becoming hard as her father's, and she took on a protective stance and refused his hand.

"How do you know who I am?" Emma asked, and it was a harsh, volatile way to say it, too. All those years being lectured by the king may just start to get paid off.

Without answering her, he reached out and gently took her hand, and led her off of the shore. "Come on, princess. We're going to be late. It dangerous out here, too, with the pirates and all," he seemed so nonchalant, but his face showed just the slightest hint of malice hidden in those freckles that dotted his nose. As he was leading her away, she could hear another boy following them through the brush, and caught slight glimpses of the bulk of a boy trailing them.

Pan moved a curtain of leaves and moss up from a tree branch, wrapped it around that, and escorted her into a little camp with different tents and boys sitting around a fire pit. They were nibbling on bread, and bread, and Emma got glints of scars and scratches on their hands and faces. They were so young; were they knights, back in her land?

"Boys, meet Princess Emma of the Enchanted Forest," Pan did a weird sort of bow, putting one leg behind the other and bowing lowly toward her, and the boys bowed their heads in suit. She ducked her head in response. "Please, don't bow! It makes me uncomfortable."

"It's the best thing to do," another voice popped in, not too terribly lighter than Pan's, from behind her. When she turned, she came nose to nose to the cutest boy she'd ever seen (and, honestly, she would never admit this to anyone, not even herself – he might have just been her very, very, very first crush).

He had shaggier hair than Pan, black, and long. It nearly touched his shoulders, and his face had a small sheen of dust and dirt over his cheeks. He had a scarf, now torn, hanging loosely from his neck and a jacket draped over his shoulders. He held out his hand in a friendly gesture, showing off teeth as he smiled at Emma. "My name is Baelfire. It's awfully nice to meet you, Princess,"

Emma accepted the shake, however hesitantly. When they let go, Baelfire looked to Pan. "I'll… I'll, uh, get her some clothes! A nightgown shouldn't get ruined while here. How long are you staying?" He directed his attention back to her, and she shrugged.

"Baelfire—"Pan began, but he had already started taking Emma away to one of the tents.

"She has a dance to get ready for," the boy pointed out, then opened the tent and let her in.

"A dance?"

"Yeah. Like, an initiation ball," he spoke, but with reluctance. Like this wasn't something he was looking forward to.

* * *

_Lol hi everyone! I have another note to stick here:  
For those of you following __**Weightless**__ as well, my update chapter was almost done when it mysteriously disappeared off of the computer, so I have to rewrite it. I have music playing and my muse is up and running, so hopefully I can get that going!  
I would also like to mention that this will most likely be Swanfire, and there will be quite a few different appearances from familiar faces here. Remember: time travel is a thing, now. uwu I hope you enjoy!_


	3. Nightingale

Prince Charming was -

No, David was furious. Livid. How else was he supposed to react to his daughter being snatched away in the middle of the night?!

He was restless, that morning, pacing back and forth and holding his head. He didn't know where else to go. After Snow had ran into the chambers, tears soaking her cheeks and screaming about how Emma had been taken by some shadow-like creature, he'd immediately woken all of the guards in their quarters and demanded a search party be made. He would not allow anyone to take his little girl.

Benny had been awake, as soon as he heard his mother's cry, and was following after his father with his gorgeous blue eyes, confused, begging for answers without opening his lips.

For a second, David was sucked into a memory. But he forced himself to not give into it, to not let it take over his vision and what he knew needed to be done.

David needed to find Emma, and he needed to find her, now.

* * *

_"Catch me, if you can!" The voice rang out, in the darkness, and she held her head even tighter. The trees were laughing, the leaves were shaking in an invisible wind, and her ringlets were being soaked with the rain. She could feel the cold water rushing down her back, but she knew in her mind there was nothing there. She was conscious that she was in a dream. She was conscious who her attacker was, but she didn't want to go after it. For a second, his laughter quelled and she was in complete and utter silence, until it was screaming at her in her face, causing her to roll backwards through the mud and hit a log._

_That was painful! It hurt too much.. was this re_ally a dream? Was Emma really dreaming?

No. There was blood soaking the back of her head, and she felt dizzy. Turning to see exactly what just made her head bleed, and noticed there was an extremely sharp edge to one of the cut off branches on the log. Pressing her fingers to her eyes, she managed to ignore the voice long enough for her to try and evaluate the situation and make sure she wasn't going to nod off.

...Neverland! That's where she was, Neverland. In the jungle. She was.. what was she doing? Running away! From, uh.. Pan? Penny.. Peter. Peter Pan. But why?

Emma couldn't remember why. And the voices were getting louder, more and more people were appearing, more and more people were beginning to yell her name, and with a sudden burst of adrenaline, Emma got onto her unfamiliar boot-clad feet and bolted.

The first place she tried to go to was the beach where she was dumped off at by the shadow. She ran up and down on the sand, looking at the horizon, to see if there would be any way for her to leave this wretched place.

She was starting to remember that the reason she left was because she was afraid. She was afraid of the boys here, how they were much bigger than her, and how the only one she could trust was a boy who was in trouble.

Baelfire was in trouble! That's why she ran away! She needed to find a way to get him back.

She needed to..

And, with that, she fell.

* * *

Killian Jones was a wry, intelligent, flirtatious, handsome man. A conniving one, at that. He was a thief, a pirate at heart, and yet he was easily the most persuaded playing chip in the pot when it came to dangerous tasks and promises of treasure.

So, when the King approached him with a grim look on his face and no armed guards, he knew he was in for a treat. Killian Jones never, ever, EVER got visits from this one, but boy, has he met his wife before. That was a topic to never dwell on in the present of His Majesty.

Being kind, Killian stood respectfully and gave a curt bow, before gesturing to the seat in front of him. Without waiting for David to sit, he sat back down and took a large swig of his flask.

And, again with the cutting-each-other-off, before Mr. Jones could ask what gave him the pleasure of meeting the King of the Enchanted Forest, David flew into the events of last night, rage and ferocity coating his tongue and his words, slipping past his lips like a tidal wave over a shore. The pirate was completely baffled by this, as he was having a hard time following, but the important bits, such as 'princess', 'stolen', 'shadow figure' and 'help' came through easily. He raised his good arm, in an attempt to calm the man down, and answered simply, "I will help,"

A look of relief passed over King David's face for the first time that day, and he took a deep breath in order to take the flush away from his cheeks. He reached out to the man in front of him, offering a hand shake, and he accepted. "You don't understand how much I will owe you for this, Hook," and he immediately regretted it as he saw the smirk pass over Hook's lips. The pirate made his smile fade quickly, however, and he nodded.

"Our first order of business is to discuss who will be accompanying me on this trip, and I assume you do have a plan?"

"Well… Me. Just me." He smiled reassuringly, and Killian Jones laughed. Right at the King's dumbstruck face. He was so, so stupid! Had he never heard of this before?

"No, no. Not just you. A small group, sure, but we need more than just you. A faerie, some stealthy seekers… How about that wife of yours? I hear she's the best thief in the kingdom, even after becoming queen." Jones winked, and he watched the King's jaw tighten.

"Why do we need a faerie?" He inquired through clenched teeth, and Killian began to laugh even harder. He really didn't know.

"Why, we're going to Neverland!"

* * *

Emma awoke in a tent, one that was made of the hide of a few deer, cloth, and twigs. It seemed steady, but she was too disoriented to know for sure.

She attempted to sit up, but found it was nearly impossible to do so with her head throbbing so hard. Outside, she realized it must have been night in order for them to have made a campfire and it being able to illuminate the inside of the tent and the heat, which she was sure was what woke her up, lick up the sides of her porcelain legs. However, she could still hear the singing of a distant Nightingale to her left, and she was now very curious.

Sweat rolling down the side of her dirty face, she glanced outside and found that it was indeed night, and what she heard was the sound of the pets in their cages. The sudden flashback of the earlier events flashed, and she looked at her clothes and felt the back of her head to find no wounds or rips. Frowning deeply, she felt around even more, and still found no sign of that ever happening. Was it just a feverish dream? Was Baelfire really in trouble?

Horrified now, she rushed from her tent, into the empty clearing, and found no one. No Lost Boys, no Pan, no Bae. Just a roaring fire in the middle of a circle of logs. Finding serenity, she plopped down on one of the large sticks of wood, and kicked rocks into the fire until she heard the sound of a piper. A beautiful, faint, amazing sound filled her ears, and she perked her head up in order to see what it was.

Emma saw Peter Pan coming, but did not try to move. The music of the pipe seemed to send her into a trance, one where she barely realized when all the boys were dancing around the fire and her own feet began to follow around them, and the last thing she heard that night was the soft, strained, terrified coo of a Nightingale with a broken foot.

* * *

_**I'm so sorry for the sucky chapter here . I just haven't had the juice of muse to really write anything for a while? I'm really sorry. This is a half filler half actual chapter. Please just... bare with me, okay? - K**_


	4. The Sky Under The Sea

"_I will always, always find you."_

_Those were the words that he knew by heart. The words they had spoken to one another time and time again, and it was always true. They always found one another. Even when the Evil Queen tried to kill them both, tried to kill their baby, they always found each other and was able to beat her magic with true love._

_When Rumplestiltskin decided it was HIS turn to try and destroy the royal family, they barely survived. In fact, he found a way to tear them apart. Snow White had originally wanted to lose her feelings for the prince, knowing he was to be betrothed, and she didn't know who he was for a very long time. But, Rumplestiltskin lucked out, and they got through that, too._

_So when Emma was born and it was discovered that she was "The Savior", everyone was after her. Nobody knew exactly what that meant, but an Oracle had said that a boy would be The Dark One's undoing, and when The Savior was born, of course everyone suspected she was the one to birth this boy._

_Rumplestiltskin sent every guard after the baby with the intention to murder her, and that was when he was finally captured and put back into the prison he had broken out of._

_When the Wicked Witch of the West paid a visit to her dear little sister, she was out for blood. A ruthless war raged with Snow Witch and Prince Charming stuck in the middle, trying to protect their gorgeous little girl._

_That's when everyone realized she really was The Savior. At only age three, her charm was the one thing (despite her secret pure magic nobody knew about until now), that was about to strike the Witch and destroy her, and Rumplestiltskin finished the job._

_After that, Regina had become a friend. She owed her life to Snow, David, and Emma, and they forgave her with open arms. Rumplestiltskin remained in prison, but he was allowed to see the woman he loved and spend time with her._

_When Benjamin was born, the kingdom rejoiced. Again, they all suspected that the one to be the Dark One's undoing was of royal descent, but they were much more careful. After seeing what one little girl birthed from the thief and the prince was capable of, they were far from ready to see what the boy could do._

_And they were right to do so._

_Prince Benjamin "Benny" Charming was extraordinary. His eyes were that pale colour nobody ever expected to come from such vibrant irises, but it did, and it was discovered that he was blind. He had an amazing sense of smell and hearing, and could virtually see colours behind his lids and had this very different power. It wasn't anything they'd ever seen before._

_Emma Charming was ten when he was born in early December, and she was confused when he couldn't see what she was doing, until Snow White placed her hands over her eyes._

"_What do you see, Emma?" She'd asked softly, sweetly, and Emma frowned._

"_I don't see anything, Mama,"_

"_That's what Benny sees."_

_The kingdom was distraught when they announced he couldn't see. When he turned two and could speak better, he was able to explain colours and tell reds from blues. This is what made Rumplestiltskin ache to the core._

_Again, he tried desperately to escape his cavern, to leave this place and take that wretched boy with him, but with The Evil Queen and Emma's powers mixed into a veil over the cage, it was no use. Benny was safe._

_But only for a while._

Captain Hook looked throughout the woods with his crew, in an attempt to find a body that was not there. When he was about to board and sail east, to a city known for crooks, the king opened up with information not previously stated.

"She's not going to be here, in the Enchanted Forest, at all." He said, and very confidently so. Killian tilted his head in moderate surprise at his assumption, and rested his body weight on his left foot for a long moment.

"Why do you say that, lad?" He inquired gently, but his interest was definitely piqued to the tip. He'd known that the captor was someone he didn't know, but if he wasn't from the Enchanted Forest…

"The person… the _creature_ that stole her wasn't anything we'd ever seen before. It was… it was a shadow, Hook. A shadow of a boy." This caused Killian to almost fall off of his foot. A shadow? It couldn't possibly be… but who else COULD it be?

"I see… I know exactly where to look." He gave a curt nod to him and turned again to walk aboard his ship. He was stopped by a small hand on his elbow, and he turned his head just enough to look.

"You're not going alone." It was a women's voice, with her head hooded but the raven hair was curling and falling over her shoulders, and he knew just who it was. He cracked a smile at her, and nodded.

"I'm sorry, my love. But I actually am. No one can afford you coming along, especially where I'm going. Someone needs to run this kingdom, or it'll go straight to Hell," he laughed loudly, and turned again, but Snow White caught his arm once more. When he glanced into her green eyes, he saw the fiery passion that made his heart swell. It was amazing to see her like this once more. He'd never met a woman so devoted to finding what she seeked. Whether it be love, her daughter, or perhaps a gorgeous piece of golden jewelry from a royal carriage, she was always the most determined to get what she deserved.

"I'm going with you."

There was no arguing with her when she looked at him like this. And David gave him that look that meant, 'you better listen'. He didn't break eye contact with her, but stepped onto the ship and offered her his hand. She took it, reluctantly, and pulled her shroud up enough to walk onto the deck. The King was following behind.

"Wait, is this a party, now? Who's going to watch after this place?" The Captain gestured to everything surrounding them with his hook, and King David just started to laugh. "It'll be in good hands."

Killian shook his head, and then offered to help him onto the Jolly Roger as well, but his offer was declined.

The boat began to get scattered, as everyone began preparing for lift-off. When they started to float, the royal couple held tight onto the sides, and they were really, really in for a treat.

Emma woke up on the bare ground with twigs and dirt in her hair and mud in her mouth. She sputtered and spat, and another body stirred next to her from the noise. Propping herself onto her elbow showed that the body that was so close to her was Baelfire, and that they'd had fallen asleep back-to-back. He didn't immediately wake up, and that gave Emma just enough time to sit all the way up and rub her eyes.

She could feel how dirty she was getting and felt disgusted by it. Before she could stand in order to dust off, the boy turned a looked up at her with such pretty eyes that she just couldn't leave him yet.

"Good morning," she smiled, crossing her legs and holding her toes as she did so. Baelfire exchanged the smile, closing his eyes again for a few moments, then sat up.

"What happened…?" He murmured, groggily trying to maneuver his limbs in order to mimic the way she was sitting. Emma wasn't sure if it was because she was sitting like that, or if he naturally did it anyway. It seemed like the latter; he did it with a certain grace that no sleepy person should be able to acquire until there was several hours of being awake in between waking up and sitting.

She was over analyzing his stature. She looked away.

"I don't know. I think we had a party, though." She rubbed her hands together and then stood, offering him a hand. He took it, and she gave a small hint of a smirk. He used dead weight in order to make her use all of her strength to help him up.

"...Where is everyone?" She asked, looking around and kicking at the charred wood in the center of their circle. Bae seemed to not be affected by the missing boys one bit, and simply shrugged.

"Hey… do you want to see someplace secret?" He asked her, taking her hand once more and without waiting for an answer, began to drag her away.

They walked through the forest, and it honestly seemed like he didn't know where they were going. But, when he passed into a sheet of lichens that were covering a small passageway, a cave, she became giddy with excitement. Passing through the pitch-dark with his hands on her shoulders to guide the way, the sunlight began to filter through the leaves and a breathtaking sight took over her senses.

There was a gorgeous waterfall on the opposite side of the cliff they stood on, which was covered in clovers and wildflowers of every colour under the sun, and long, flowery vines draped from a gorgeous oak tree that was the crown of the setting. The volcano was where the waterfall was coming from, which meant there was somehow a river over there.

Emma looked at the taller boy with a fleeting look of disbelief. This became even more so when he took off his shoes, socks, and vest, and then ran. Towards the edge.

The drop was maybe 10 meters down, but the water below seemed to be just right for that. She couldn't see the bottom or anything jutting out from the surface, and that's when he jumps and dives down.

Emma immediately covered her mouth and watched as he made contact and went under, and then the apprehension began. She fell to her knees, looking over the side and waited a few seconds that felt like centuries, until his shaggy head popped out suddenly. He gave a whoop, and then yelled loudly, "Get your scrawny butt down here! The water feels great!"

She started to laugh almost hysterically, but followed suit. She was anxious to do the dive, and she stood back for a long time before finally performing.

The air whipped her hair around and slashed at her face, but a maniacal laugh crashed out from her voicebox and she started to scream with thrill. The fall didn't seem so dangerous, and she put her arms out just in time to made a hard landing in the water. The pain seized her for a second before it vanished, and she quickly swam to the top to meet Baelfire, pushing all of her hair away from her face.

"That was amazing!" She yelled, and he began to laugh. Reaching up, he put his elbows on her head and dunked her down, and they continued to rough house like that until they couldn't move much anymore. The swim had definitely been what the young Princess had needed, and when they swam off to the shore on the left, she really didn't want it to end.

Instead of doing anything significant, they just laid there under the sun to dry, laughing and joking about everything and anything they could think of.

After laughing so hard at one of Bae's embarrassing memories from when he was a boy, Emma caught her breath and began to tell something of her own. These stories weren't anything that were really important, but it just seemed right to talk about it with a friend.

After a few more, they were laughing until they couldn't breathe, and that's when Bae spoke something that chilled Emma to the bone, made her skin crawl. It was unusual, as most things didn't have that effect on her. But it was just the way he said, "I wish that shadow didn't steal me away in the first damn place or I would be having more of these stories and not have to sit here and watch as my life is wasted away on being young" that made her want to cry.

* * *

**_Wow this took a loooonnngg time, but I hope this is a good one! I'm finally getting some of that Swanfire into the mix, and talk about sassy queens. I hoped you liked this addition! - K_**


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